Sausage fanatic embarks on porky pilgrimage to find the planet’s best bangers

Pan-tastic: John Gledson’s insatiable appetite for the humble sausage has seen him travel the world to find the best (Picture: Solent)

From chorizos to chipolatas, kranjskas to krakowskas, one sausage fan has globetrotted 24,000km (15,000 miles) to try to find the best bangers the world has to offer.

John Gledson has been a devotee of the pork treats since childhood and sampled about 400 different varieties on his travels to find the most wondrous würsts.

The 44-year-old visited Scotland, Serbia, Germany, France, Hungary and the US this year alone and is chronicling the culinary quest for his book The Sausage Trail, out next year. ‘I’m a sausage lover and it probably all stems from when I used to live in Cumbria as a child,’ he said.

Sizzlers: John barbecues on his sojourn in France (Picture: Solent)

‘Everyone used to come round for my mum’s cooked breakfasts – she used to go out of her way to find new sausages.’

His travels began at the end of British Sausage Week in November 2011, culminating in a trip to Las Vegas for the World Food Championships last month. However, it is a British- inspired, German-produced banger that remains his favourite.